Xfinity vs. CenturyLink Internet Review 2020

Sometimes picking an internet plan is like you’re standing in front of Door #1 and Door #2. You have to decide which door hides a new car and which one hides a trip to Hawaii—but both prizes come with a few surprises.

If you’re choosing between CenturyLink and Xfinity for internet, that probably sums up how you feel about the whole dilemma. I know it did for me. And while I ended up going with Xfinity, there are definitely some perks to choosing CenturyLink instead. Here’s why.

Xfinity vs. CenturyLink: Prices

Depending on where you live, CenturyLink’s speeds vary for the same price, while Xfinity’s prices vary for the same speeds.

Okay, before we dig into the nitty-gritty, let’s chat about where you call home.

Hometown pride aside, your location is important because it affects which Xfinity prices you see and which CenturyLink speeds you get.

Weird, huh? Yeah, we thought so too. Here’s how that cookie crumbles:

• Xfinity prices change based on which region of the US you live in: West, Central, or Northeast. But the speeds it offers remain the same, with a few changes here and there.
• CenturyLink speeds change based on where you live—but CenturyLink will pair you up with the fastest speed you can get in your area up to 100 Mbps for the same monthly price. (Excluding its 940 Mbps fiber plan.)

Got all that? Great, now we’re ready to dive head-first into the cookie jar.

Prices for Xfinity’s internet plans start out much lower than CenturyLink’s, but the speed you get for the price you pay quickly evens out between the two internet service providers (ISPs).

Of course, Xfinity’s whopper of a bill for its 2,000 Mbps plan—which happens to be limited to certain areas of the US—skews things a little. Okay, a lot.

But if you cut off Xfinity’s price range at the much more reasonable $70 a month for the more widely available 1,000 Mbps plan, you get a clearer picture of how Xfinity measures up to CenturyLink. Which seems to be a pretty even match.

What doesn’t match between the two ISPs is which speed each one offers. CenturyLink connects you to the web at 15 to 100 Mbps or at 940 Mbps, but Xfinity has a bunch of speeds in between to choose from. We’d say that makes plans like Xfinity’s Performance Pro and Blast! Pro a better choice for families of streamers or gamers.

All right, we don’t mean to rain on CenturyLink’s parade. Especially since CenturyLink has a Price for Life guarantee and Xfinity doesn’t. (Though Xfinity does offer some no-contract plans, typically at a higher monthly price than its contract plans.)

With CenturyLink Price for Life, the price you sign up for is the price you’ll pay forever. (As long as you remain a CenturyLink customer, keep the same service, and pay your bills on time, of course.)

And while the 940 Mbps plan isn’t eligible for Price for Life, CenturyLink’s dedication to keeping your price locked in is still refreshingly straightforward. So much so that it made us look twice at CenturyLink. Especially when our Xfinity bill went up after our two-year contract was over. Guh.

CenturyLink’s Price for Life guarantee is what makes its Price for Life 80 Mbps and Price for Life 100 Mbps plans a steal for any budget-minded individuals or small families who enjoy watching the latest season of The Dragon Prince together or taking down the enemy team in a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds match.

For large families and anyone who wants their internet to pack the biggest punch possible, we also think CenturyLink’s Fiber Internet plan is a steal. (If it’s available to you.)

It rings up at a lower monthly price than Xfinity’s gig speed plan—and is even a better deal than Verizon Fios’s and AT&T Fiber’s gig plans, though it doesn’t come with CenturyLink’s infamous Price for Life deal.

We’ve got more recommended plans and thoughts on pricing in our Xfinity review and our CenturyLink internet review.

Xfinity vs. CenturyLink: Internet speed

There’s no tortoise and the hare story here—Xfinity wins the race.

Both CenturyLink and Xfinity offer quite a few speed options, but like we mentioned before, Xfinity’s plans cover a wider range of speeds. There’s quite a gap between CenturyLink’s 100 Mbps and 940 Mbps plans.

But hey, don’t let Xfinity’s top-tier 2,000 Mbps plan sweep you off your feet. It’s far more likely you’ll get to choose its 1,000 Mbps plan. Besides, you’ll need to fork over about $300 for those 2,000 Mbps speeds.

Now, if you want to talk actual speed performance, we’ll still point you to Xfinity.

Comcast Xfinity ranked seventh overall and fourth out of all the large ISPs in our analysis of the fastest ISPs in the US. CenturyLink, on the other hand, ranked 28th overall.

A couple of quick caveats here: those scores aren’t representative of actual download speeds for either Xfinity or CenturyLink. Instead, the scores represent a combination of the average download speeds, upload speeds, and latency that Xfinity and CenturyLink internet users saw in more than 1 million speed tests taken in 2019.

Also, we should note that our top-ranked ISP earned a score of 75.6, so Xfinity’s score of 46.6 is actually pretty good. And both Xfinity and CenturyLink are at a disadvantage compared to fiber internet providers since we also measured average upload speeds. Cable and DSL internet don’t have fast upload speeds, but fiber does. (Though Xfinity and CenturyLink both have fiber plans.)

CenturyLink vs. Xfinity: Internet and TV bundles

Xfinity bundles can save you some money, but CenturyLink bundles with DIRECTV.

Typically, bundling your internet with TV service from the same provider saves you some cash. But if you dig into the costs of Xfinity’s and CenturyLink’s bundles, you’ll find this isn’t always true.

One thing’s for sure, though, you’ll save money with most of Xfinity’s bundles versus paying for your internet and TV service separately.

We’re happy to see Xfinity’s bundle channel counts keep up with CenturyLink’s—a pretty epic feat considering CenturyLink bundles with DIRECTV.

If you’re curious about whether Xfinity offers your favorite channels or not, check out our full-length Xfinity TV review.

Yup, when it comes to bundling internet with TV, good ol’ CenturyLink is going big instead of going home. Since it cut its CenturyLink Prism TV service a few years back, DIRECTV has been CenturyLink’s TV provider of choice.

Sadly, you won’t find many savings around here. Unlike AT&T, which also bundles internet with DIRECTV, CenturyLink’s bundle prices come out to the same price as paying for TV and internet separately. (Sad trombone.)

Still, you’re getting all that DIRECTV channel love by bundling with CenturyLink. Just watch out for that price hike after your first year of DIRECTV service.

Find out why we love DIRECTV so much—even with the price jump—in our DIRECTV review.

Xfinity vs. CenturyLink: Customer service

Both CenturyLink and Xfinity have lots of room to improve, customer service–wise.

Customer service is a touchy issue for ISPs, and we don’t need to tell you why. You’ve been there.

Unfortunately, both Xfinity’s and CenturyLink’s reputations don’t make us feel better about the whole customer service deal. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), both ISPs scored lower than the industry average of 62 out of 100.² (But both did improve by one point.)

So whaddya do if you have to call Xfinity or CenturyLink? First off, take a deep breath and channel your inner Mother Teresa. Omm . . .

. . . Seriously, though, there’s no point in getting angry or frustrated. Here are some more tips for navigating what feels like trench warfare with customer service:

1. Use email, live chat, or social media instead of calling so you can unload the dishwasher, play games, or make the bed while you wait.
2. Get any promises or details in writing—screenshot your chat logs and save those emails.
3. Ask for a manager if your current representative isn’t helpful.

Recap: Xfinity vs. CenturyLink

If you’re comparing Xfinity and CenturyLink internet, there’s no clear winner.

The good news is, Xfinity is a clear choice if you’re looking for reliably fast internet with lots of download speed options and don’t mind a higher price. And CenturyLink’s Price for Life guarantee is almost irresistible for anyone who’d rather save some money on internet than get the fastest speeds.

• Pricing: CenturyLink. Both Xfinity and CenturyLink have reasonable prices for the speeds each one offers—but only CenturyLink gives you that Price for Life guarantee.
• Speed: Xfinity. Xfinity offers up more download speed options—and tends to be good on its word when it comes to delivering those speeds.
• TV + internet bundles: Depending on what you want out of your internet and TV bundle, both Xfinity and CenturyLink can be the pick of the pack. Xfinity has fewer bundle options but will probably save you some cash, while CenturyLink focuses less on savings and more on the deliciousness that is DIRECTV.
• Customer service: Neither. Both ISPs have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving customer service. Neither one scored higher than the internet industry average ACSI score—though they did both improve by one point over last year’s scores.

Get all the details to help you decide which ISP is best in our Xfinity internet review and our CenturyLink review.

Sources

1. Catherine McNally, Reviews.org, “Fastest Internet Providers 2020,” August 2020. Accessed August 12, 2020.
2. American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), “ACSI Telecommunications Report 2018–2019”